And the big men fly at Ewingar: NSW State Forests $$$, environment 0
The outrage that has been indicated in recent letters to local newspapers regarding logging in Ewingar State Forest is a typical response of local residents when they witness at first hand the results of the Regional Forest Agreements.
This was the over-commitment by government, of unsustainable wood volumes to an insatiable timber industry for the next twenty years.
The commitment was made against the advice of scientific experts, who maintained that a larger area was needed in reserve to guarantee the long-term survival of a range of threatened species than the reserve proposal that was adopted by Government.
This over-commitment in reality may mean that if logging is prevented in one area then the shortfall will be made up for by more intensive operations in other places.
The outrage of local residents is usually replaced by disbelief when it is realised that despite this apparent forest destruction very few of the new regulations have been breached.
While most conservationists welcome on-site consultation, the State Forest PR machine excelled itself recently by sending six State Forest officers to consult with concerned local resident Michael Mizzi over the fate of his local forest.
Although unexpected by State Forest, myself and another local resident attended the meeting in Ewingar State Forest with Michael. Six State Forest staff arrived in almost as many vehicles, from as far away as Coffs Harbour, to try to convince Michael that they weren’t doing any harm to the forest. (I couldn’t help but wonder how much this had cost and how intimidating this meeting could have been had Michael attended alone).
Ewingar State Forest is located in the Upper Clarence area north of Baryugil. Ewingar is mostly regrowth forest with a relatively high density of emergent, over-mature tallowwood occurring across much of the harvestable area of the compartments in question. The compartments have high fauna values and are in a sensitive part of the catchment, being in proximity to the Clarence River, with steep slopes, erodible soils and potential for intense rainfall events.
A relatively wide rainforest ecotone extends into much of the harvestable area of the compartments, where young, mature, rainforest trees compete with the tallowwood / bluegum regeneration from the last logging operation.
Local residents are concerned that fauna and catchment values may be negatively impacted and that rainforest will be damaged. The location of the rainforest boundary is in dispute, as are the objectives of management practices employed in proximity to the boundary, which are to prevent the further expansion of rainforest into the compartment.
The use of fire to promote eucalypt regeneration at the expense of rainforest was discussed at the on site meeting and we were assured by State Forest that that due to the extremely dry conditions, post harvest burning would not be carried out.
During the consultation, State Forests were successful in confirming to Michael that they were operating within the rules laid down in the IFOA. However they were unable to convince any of us that the operation should in any way be considered sustainable.
The fact that Ewingar has been logged several times in the past should not imply that this can continue indefinitely with the expectation that it will just keep bouncing back. Any modeling of predicted yield that presumes this is dangerously over optimistic.
Every farmer knows that crops cannot be continually removed from land indefinitely without addition of nutrients. No one can guarantee that invasion by lantana will not suppress tree regeneration or that the presently expanding bellbird-related dieback, killing forests of similar composition on the Richmond Range, will not occur at the site as a result of logging disturbance. An extended drought or wildfire could also change the expected response of the vegetation, significantly reducing predicted ‘sustainable’ yields.
A second meeting was arranged by State Forests to further consult with a local indigenous group who claimed that they had not been included in previous indigenous consultation in regard to the logging operation. It could be that the protocols for indigenous consultation established within the IFOA are not being properly followed or are in need of review.
About twenty conservationists from around the region also attended this meeting which was held in the smoldering ruins of the recently logged Ewingar compartment.
When asked about the cause of the fire, State Forest immediately put it down to lightning strike to the north, in the Timbarra Valley.
Local residents were quick to point out that there had been no lightning for at least a week before the fire had begun and that graziers in the Timbarra Valley had a well known history of fire escapes and were unlikely to own up to being responsible for the destruction.
Although it was clear that State Forests had not lit the fire and had effectively kept it out of most of the yet to be logged parts of the compartment, it may have fitted well with their preferred post logging management. There was conjecture at the meeting as some were suspicious that SF may have deliberately allowed the recently logged areas to burn.
With most of the present logging operation complete, harvest plans are being prepared and work will soon begin on another group of Ewingar forest compartments.
To the horror of local residents, State Forest confirmed that they intend to log a lot more of Ewingar State Forest over the next two years.
The Upper Clarence Environment Network will continue to monitor and report on State Forest activities at Ewingar.
-Jim Morrison
Upper Clarence Environment Network.